Sixto Rodriguez

Searching for Suger Man – The Life and Times of Sixto Rodriguez
By R. Richards,
Mountain Spirit Institute Founder
It’s been said that happiness and sorrow are different sides of the same coin, and that presence is the razor’s edge one walks to weather life’s ups and downs in peace. This comes to mind when I think of Sixto Rodriguez‘s life story, told in the Oscar winning documentary, Searching for Sugar Man directed by Sweden’s Malik Bendjelloul.

Director and Subjects of Searching for Sugar Man

For those unfamiliar with this documentary, it’s the story of a folk singer/songwriter with a powerful gift of prose and music who never “made it” in the U.S. when he released two albums in the early ’70′s. When the releases never took off, he just went back to work in his home town of Detroit, doing construction and remodels.  He and his promotional agents couldn’t believe his albums never became popular.

But they did become popular, in South Africa, unbeknownst to Mr. Rodriguez, or anyone else in the U.S. for that matter.  “He was bigger than Elvis”, and could “write better than Dylan”, were some of the comments in the documentary. Not until two South African fans were finally able track down the musician in Detroit, did the story come full circle, and Rodriguez learned of his fame in South Africa.

I won’t give away the ending. I will say that what makes this man endearing, is his humility in an age of rage and ego-centrism. He’s the epitome of centeredness, although he’d not want that to be written about him.

Maybe, on some level, his life had to take the twists and turns in this fairy tale of rags to riches, so  he could show the rest of us what grace looks like, in both the hard life of a Detroit worker and the red carpet of stardom. (He played to five sold our concerts of 5000 each when we was first invited to South Africa). Oh did I forget the punch line? Most South Africans, due to a rumor, thought the artist had died a fiery death by setting himself alight on stage, or had pulled a gun on himself and pulled the trigger in front of an audience. As the movie clearly shows, Mr. Rodriguez has been alive and well all this time, now in his ’70′s.

Searching for Sugar Man

As you can see in the film, Sixto Rodriguez is as calm in front of 5000 people as he is walking the streets of Detroit. He appeared to be a bit uncomfortable in the first interview for the documentary. However in more recent Youtube videos, he seems quite at ease in front of the reporter’s cameras.

My wife is South African, and when we first heard of the movie’s release, and planned on seeing it, I asked “Who is Rodriguez?” and she looked at me in disbelief. Because of South Africa’s censorship of the press, including music, (not  dissimilar  to what we have on the U.S. media front today with a controlled press),  everyone in South Africa just assumed Rodriguez was a world-wide star, not just in South Africa. So in the last few months, I’ve been reading about Rodriquez and listening to his music. As an American, I’m catching up on the music my wife grew up with.  but we never knew of this .
In closing, I think this quiet Native American/Mexican musician from Detroit is a man for our times. He appears to be much more than a musician. If it had happened any other way, he might not have the credentials from the school of hard knocks, to have come from working class to world class with a heart of gold needed in today’s world. He’s another example of the flowering of human consciousness. Thanks Sixto Rodriguez for being who you are.

As a side note – We’ve been fortunate to get tickets here in Auckland, New Zealand to see Rodriguez perform in a couple of weeks.  I’ll be sure to post how it went.

Let them eat cake

I don’t mean write just anything of course, but get writing. For some of our regular readers, you may have noticed I haven’t been around much these past months. It’s been quite a year, what with selling the family home (a good thing), sifting through and giving away a lot of stuff, running MSI programs, and lastly, moving back here to New Zealand.

We arrived yesterday, complete with our 19-month old toddler, on my birthday. (Thanks for all the good birthday wishes by the way from folks on Facebook.) We had planned on being here months ago, but in toddler-ville, everything seemed to take longer. Not that I’m complaining, because we saw people, go for a ski or a skate, and plan the move properly.

Now that we’re here, it’s time to, among other things, put on the writing hat back on, and keep writing -  something, anything.

I’ve got a lot on my mind, and of course, I want to post an update and synopsis of our latest collaborative program with Lama Willa Miller and Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in the Dartmouth Lake Sunapee Region of New Hampshire called Nordic Nirvana.  Stay tuned with some other observations and things that have come across my path, including Searching for Sugarman, (It looks like we might actually see Rodriguez in concert here in Auckland in a few weeks), and wherethehellismatt.com plus some of the random observations and news I have covered over the years.

We’re pretty tired, and we’re still geared to NH time, which makes it 4:30AM (and I’m still not in bed), but I thought I’d write something, anything.

Deborah Sellars

Deb Sellars and Molly Morgan, part of the ski instructor team (with Randy Richards) for the upcoming Nordic Nirvana program, talk about their background and the concept of blending XC Skiing and the Buddhist practice of mindfulness and presence while skiing in nature.

Molly Morgan

Mountain Spirit Institute is collaborating with Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH to offer a special weekend, based at the refuge, of XC skiing (possibly snowshoeing depending upon conditions) on Feb. 8,9,10th. For more info see  Mountain Spirit Institute’s and Wonderwell Mountain Refuge’s webpages on the program.

“Letting the mountains meditate you”

Mountain Spirit Institute‘s director, R. Richards, continues his interview with Lama Willa Miller of the Wonderwell Mountain Refuge about their collaboration on the upcoming Nordic Nirvana Cross-Country Ski weekend retreat. This is the two organization’s second collaborative offering of mindfulness and outdoor pursuits. In Oct. 2012, MSI and Wonderwell offered Mindfulness in the Mountains.
This program promises to deliver a similar flavor of quietude but this time, with a balance of motion over snow on ski.

XC Skiing and Meditation

Mountain Spirit Institute is excited to once again partner with  Wonderwell Mountain Refuge and Natural Dharma Fellowship to offer a weekend of nordic skiing and meditation in the beautiful mountains and woods the Dartmouth Lake Sunapee region of New Hampshire. Below is part 1 of yesterday’s interview with Lama Willa Miller, the spiritual head of the Wonderwell and Natural Dharma Fellowship of Cambridge MA. Part II is here.

Tenacity

The Amazing Transformation of a Guy Who Never Gave Up

This veteran was a paratrooper, he jumped out of airplanes and all the stress from the landings added up.  All the doctors said there was no hope for him to walk again. They all turned him down on his request to attempt the impossible, except one. An inspiring story.

Uphillers – Images: Steve Lipsher / Summit Daily News

KEYSTONE — Headlights beam through the swirling snow as the 5 a.m. ski-area social hour kicks off.
The dogs are a yipping tangle as a gaggle of underdressed skiers click into their skinny skis and start climbing Keystone’s perfectly groomed River Run trail.
By dawn, more than 50 skiers are climbing Keystone ski area, hugging the treeline as growling groomers comb the fresh snow.
“I call it my Stairmaster with a view,” said Breckenridge mayor John Warner, who first started skinning up his home hill 24 years ago and still logs 80 pre-dawn mornings skinning up Breck’s groomed trails. Read the rest of this story…

Also..
Breckenridge to restrict uphill skiers
Breckenridge Ski Resort officials are asking for cooperation from a rugged, growing breed of skiers
By Robert Allen
Vail Daily

BRECKENRIDGE, Colorado — Breckenridge Ski Resort officials are asking for cooperation from a rugged, growing breed of skiers who prefer hiking to riding ski lifts, as the resort undergoes base-area construction and balances business operations with after-hours access.
Dozens of so-called “skinners” flocked Thursday to Breckenridge Town Hall, where resort officials discussed restrictions, rules and revamped parking plans.
Enthusiasts frequently snowshoe, ski — with the aid of climbing skins — or hike uphill before skiing back down during early morning and late-evening hours. It’s a popular practice on Aspen-area ski slopes, as well, particularly at Buttermilk.  Read the rest of this story…

Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle, who we certainly think has a few good things to say,  will be providing an opportunity for a world-wide live meditation broadcast event for their community friends on November 11 at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM BST (London time). This free event is their way in helping to raise the consciousness on the planet and bring Eckhart’s message of peace, stillness and awakening to as many people as possible.
You will need to pre-register here.
Click here to view what time this event will be broadcasted in your area.
From Tolle’s Website: “We invite you to experience this powerful process and collective energy with us on November 11. We are excited to see you then.”

Accidents is online

The American Alpine Club’s Accidents in North American Mountaineering 2011 is available online as a free e-book. Although it doesn’t appear to be available as a download, you can view it at Rock and Ice’s webpage. It’s always good to learn from someone else’s mistakes, and this little publication provides the scenarios and analysis from both the climbing parties themselves, (if they survived to tell about it), and from rescue operations as well. If you’re not a climber you still might find the publication interesting.

A case for the hard working travelers & educators

Finally Realizing I Actually Did Make the Best Life Decisions
By R. Richards, Founder
Mountain Spirit Institute
Andrew McCarthy in his book  “The Longest Way Home – One Man’s Quest for the Courage to Settle Down “  writes, “Whenever I would tell people that I was going off on some trip or another, I was met with remarks like, “Oh, tough life,” or, “That’s rough.” Even good friends reacted with outright hostile envy-”Must be nice,” they often said. I used to try to explain and justify my travels.  It was pointless.  Travel, especially by people who rarely do it, is often dismissed as a luxury and an indulgence, not a practical or useful way to spend one’s time.
“People complain, “I wish I could afford to go away.” Even when I did the math and showed that I often spent less money while on the road than staying home, they looked at me with skepticism.  The reasons for not traveling are as varied and complex as the justification for any behavior.  Perhaps people feel this way about travel because of how it’s so often perceived and presented.
“They anticipate and expect escape, from jobs and worries, from routines and families, but mostly, I think, from themselves-the sunny beach with life’s burdens left behind.  For me, travel has rarely been about escape; it’s often not even about a particular destination. The motivation is to go, to meet life, and myself, head-on along the road. There’s something in the act of setting out that renews me, that fills me with a feeling of possibility. On the road, I’m forced to rely on instinct and intuition, on the kindness of strangers, in ways that illuminate who I am, ways that shed light on my motivations, my fears. “

The author as a child on Lake Sunapee

My wife, who had been reading McCarthy’s book this week, showed the above passage to me the other day.  Although I’ve done more than my fair share of “inner work”, in one instant, after hearing her read these words, I realized, I too have been carrying a chip on my shoulder about supposedly not working hard enough, about being a mountain guide and facilitator and director of a non-profit organziation. I’ve tried to defend what I do to  family, friends and the fellow community members in my home town. It has not been the work of my imagination – that some have thought I “was on permanent vacation”.

After graduation from University of Utah, I was on a fast track to represent an Austrian ski boot company in the U.S. by taking a Master Boot-maker program in Austria. However, the combination of two main life events,  meeting Erga and Luciano Cappella, (see my earlier post: Reconnecting with a Mentor)  and one day, simply realizing I was on the wrong side of the window in that little mountain workshop where I was learning how to make ski boots, made me have a paradigm shift. I needed to be “out there in the mountains”, in the Alps. Something in me snapped, and I realized at that moment, I was the closest I would ever get to corporate life, (aside from later conducting Outward Bound Professional corporate team-building workshops). I took a left-hand turn out of the corporate ski business, and never looked back.  With that decision, came a shift in perception, and future decisions  led me to international mountain guiding, a long stint with Outward Bound as a lead instructor and staff trainer, and lastly, founder of Mountain Spirit Institute.

Richards rappelling in his twenties, Newbury, NH

I’ve worked hard, as do most people in the outdoor education field. Anyone who has started a  non-profit organization from the ground up also knows program building and organizational management on a small scale takes a lot of energy, more so than punching a timeclock.  It has sometimes felt like pushing a boulder uphill.  That’s not even taking into account the fun, but hard and endless hours of making sure the participants get what they need on any given program.  I’m committed to what I do, and feel I’m  good at it. It has been my passion since I started teaching in the outdoors at age thirteen, and I feel it’s my life’s purpose.

But from the outside,  it looks like I’ve been galavanting around since my twenties. “When are you going to get a real job” is what if not said, is implied sometimes. Indeed, even my parents occasionally expressed concerns about my not “biting the bullet” , a nice term. Then, later in her life, my mom was just happy knowing that I was doing what filled me up.

With Dr. Theo Paredes, Peru

I didn’t know this article needed to be written until a few nights ago, but now realize it has been long overdue.  I quoted Eckhart Tolle in an earlier post
“Most people are only peripherally aware of the world that surrounds them,  Especially if their surroundings are familiar. The voice in the head absorbs a greater part of their attention. Some people feel more alive when they travel and visit unfamiliar places or foreign countries because at those times sense perception, experiencing takes up more of their consciousness than thinking. They become more present.”

I never looked back – Guiding in Alaska

It’s almost a cliché, but I think this is what other climbers, outdoor leaders and guides are up against when they encounter the world of the conventional. It’s almost like two worlds intersecting. Many articles and books have been written about this. Of course we’re all connected on one level. On another, there very different lives happening in my small hometown.  Said Oliver Wendall Holmes  “A mind that is stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimensions.”

Fortunately my mind has been stretched. Now it is up to me, with this new perspective, (thanks to McCarthy), to compassionately nod to those who don’t understand my lifestyle and career choice, and to move on.
For more information on R. Richards’ career choices you can read his short bio at Mountain Spirit Institute’s About Page.
Re-edited on 11/3/12 16:46EST (My motto, post first, edit later)

Some responses from my personal Facebook Page, also see the comment posted below by Jay for additional insight.

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  Peter Canaday Hard to explain unless you come across others of the same mind, and then, no explanation is necessary….
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  Wendy Gilker Randy, I understand living a life different from the norm. Generally, people do question it. How many times have people asked me – “When do you get a life Wendy”. As Joseph Campbell said ” the Journey begins with a” call to adventure in which the He…See More

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• Wendy Gilker Helen Keller – “Many people admire what I did with my life because I seemed to be at such a disadvantage. But, they’re mistaken. If anything , I was greatly blessed. The danger in my “zone unknown” was great, but so was the treasure since eternal pr…See More
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  Randy Richards Good comments Wendy, I like the quotes.
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  Irene Powell Thank you for sharing….I will be allowing this words to percolate inside and see where they take me in my inner voyage of discovery.
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  Kevin Sleeper Randy, I have to say that it is/was probably jealousy which produces those comments. Be comfortable that it is our loss and your gain. Being outside was always a passion of mine, mostly expressed through scouting. Check out my posting of the Sailors take warning sky last Sunday at 6:15 or so over Lake Sunapee. I am sure you will recognize the place?
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  Randy Richards Thanks Jay Leavitt for the comment and poem (posted on our blog). You bring up some good points I failed to include. Also, I’ve done some re-edits of the blog post – My motto: Post first, edit later.
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  Randy Richards Hey Kevin Thanks for that..Yeah I remember that about you.
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  Dale Morrow I agree with Kevin, Randy. Feel a little sympathy for us who look at you, and feel the need to needle you, because we covet your life. But don’t take it all to heart. They mean no harm. People have to learn to accept the choices they’ve made.
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  Kevin Sleeper Randy, I learned a long time ago if U R going to swim upstream U R going to need a thick skin.